NERC Pledges More Support for Indigenous Prepaid Meters Manufacturers

Sunday Okobi and Kehinde Lawal

In order to bridge the gap between foreign electricity meter usages and importation as well as to fulfil the desire of Nigerians to have their pre-payment meters, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has pledged its support for indigenous prepaid meter manufacturers.

This is also to promote locally made meters in the country.
Speaking recently at Mojec International Limited, an indigenous prepaid meter manufacturing company in Lagos, the Chairman, NERC, Mr. James Momoh, said the commission’s support for indigenous prepaid meters manufacturers in the country would not only be beneficial to the country, but would also create jobs and boost the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

He noted that the entrepreneurs and innovators in the country were making efforts to adequately contribute to the development of the electricity industry, which he described as impressive.

Momoh said, “We are determined to succeed and we have the support of the National Automotive Council (NAC) to take us to the next level of industrialisation of electricity regulatory in the country, hoping that this will now be replicated. My check will not just be in Lagos, my check will be all over the country.”
He expressed dissatisfaction over the low patronage of indigenous meters.

“The goal and focus is, we are not going to wait for them until they are ready to start patronising your products, we are already on the move and the situation of your manufacturing plant here which they can see has convinced the Commission about the determination of your company.

“People need to start buying and using these products and by so doing, they know who is selling pirated and fake products to them. So, when the problem comes they can come to you and you can help to fix them and that will make everybody happy.
“There is no different between what we have seen here and what they have in other countries, ” Momoh added.

On his part, the Managing Director, Mojec International Limited, Ms. Chantelle Abdul, commended NERC for the confidence reposed in the company as one of the companies to distribute prepaid meters and assured the regulator that the firm would meet up with the target.

“Take a meter from China or Europe and use it in Nigeria, it won’t stand the pressure, it would develop fault after a while. Why? Because it is not made for our market and it is not friendly with our environment. There are lots of peculiar issues in Nigeria, whether it is temperature or instability in power supply, tampering of equipment. We have taken all of these into consideration and added them into our meters designs.

“The company, being a proudly Nigerian manufacturer of world-class standard meters, remains committed to the Nigerian vision and ever determined to deliver top quality products and services to its customers across the country.
“Mojec is the only manufacturing company that provides at least 5-10years warranty on our meters today. Our component are quality, meaning we will go for strong quality control process to ensure that they last for a long period of time.”